BOE candidates answer questions at local forums

Posted:
10/15/2013 09:27:50 AM MDT

Updated:
10/15/2013 09:29:58 AM MDT

Candidates for Brush School District Board of Education expressed their views and answered questions at a Brush Chamber of Commerce candidate forums held October 9 and 10. Seeking office are, left to right, Mike Dixon, John Trujillo and Warren Walker. Not picture, but running for a position, are Diane Cox and Don Gabriel. (Iva Kay Horner/News-Tribune)

Three of the five candidates vying for four positions on the Board of Education (BOE) for the Brush School District were present at both forums hosted by the Brush Area Chamber of Commerce last week.Seeking election on November 5 are current BOE members Mike Dixon and Warren Walker, along with John Trujillo, Diane Cox and Don Gabriel.Finishing his first term as a school board member, Dixon said, "When I ran for the first time, people asked what's your agenda and I said I came without one."He has been involved in pubic service in the area including serving as president of the Chamber, the Rotary Club, Morgan County 4-H Foundation, EAGLE-Net Alliance and the Morgan County Board of Realtors. One of the things that inspires him to serve on the school board is that his daughter received college scholarships and, “I realized how thankful I was to the Brush School District and quality of education here.”Dixon said he has seen a lot of change in the last four years, including the school district losing 25 percent of its budget.John Trujillo grew up in Brush, graduating from Brush High School (BHS) in 1983. Following a stint with the United States Air Force and five years working for the Department of Defense, the father of two, one of whom is currently a freshman at BHS, said, "My dad was a politician and told me don't make promises you can't keep.""I am in it for the kids, they are our future," he told those attending the chamber luncheon.

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"I like to keep busy, like to be involved," he commented. "I feel it's important to be involved in the community."Speaking to finances, Trujillo commented, "The board is going to provide challenges", adding that Amendment 66 could provide additional money. With his financial experience, he can bring that expertise to the board.Incumbent Warren Walker is seeing re-election to the board on which he has served for more than four years. Born in Brush, the candidate is proud of his four children, all who have graduated from BHS. "They are all successful and I am really proud of the kids," he remarked. "I give thanks to the administration and staff who made that happen. One thing you can't do is thank a teacher enough. THey are not in it for the money.""One thing I do like about the Brush School District is that it's progressing…it's been a good school district and will continue to be that." He continued, "One of the things I want to do is finish what I started," adding "I have a strong heart for the board."Questions and Answers•Amendment 66 has four parts. Are you in favor of Amendment 66 in whole or in part? Why or why not?Trujillo: I have not had the opportunity to fully read the amendment. It would infuse $950 million back into the school system. I am in favor of it and am willing to pay the taxes so children can get the best education possible. More teachers means smaller class sizes and I definitely want to see that. Because of that, there is more one-on-one time. Our kids are the most important thing in this district. This district cut back a few years ago and if Amendment 66 passes, we have the ability to instill some of those programs we had to lost. From a rural area standpoint, we will see more dollars than the big schools. That's a positive, that's apples. I highly encourage Amendment 66.Walker: Yes in favor of it especially since we didn’t get the mill levy on the ballot. This is going to be a deal breaker for schools. It's one of those things that we have to have. If we don't get it, we will be faced with the same budget cuts we already faced.Dixon: We need more money. We have more mandates and more requirements and we need more money to meet them. So yes I am in support of it. The school district originally contemplated floating a local bond issue to raise $1.6 million over five years.•If Amendment 66 passes and the district receives some $2.3 million over five years, how should the excess be spent? Give at least three areas in order of priority.Walker: The biggest area we need to spend on is our teachers. We also need resources for our children. We to need to put money into our Distance Learning Lab to keep it growing and sustainable. Thirdly, we need to go back to the kids again and look at what they need. We need to look at things like transportation and the school lunch programDixon: We need to go back and look at our goals to see what we want to accomplish. One of the big problems is trying to get kids at the reading level they should be at. A lot of kids are struggling. We also need to look at what we are doing for talented kids. Sometimes they have been forgotten, we put so much into everyone else. Third we need to get teacher’s salaries back up.Trujillo: – Teachers. Quality pay means quality teachers. Lot of teachers leave. The second area - computers. Lastly - safety. We want our kids to have a safe environment and not have to worry about what kind of nonsense is going on outside.•If Amendment 66 doesn’t pass, where would you make cuts? Identify at least three areas in order of priority.Dixon: That’s a tough one. I’ve been there and kind of know what the routine is. Eighty percent of the budget goes to personnel, so there are not a lot of options but to cut that. We could look at classroom size. From there isn’t much to cut. As for technology it’s bare bones enough.Trujillo: One of the things I would consider is a four-day school week. Unfortunately if this amendment doesn’t pass we may have to look at personnel. Also, possibly sports, maybe consolidating games at common facility. Walker: I wasn’t a traditional student. I didn’t go to college until I was 40. It made me appreciate education. We’d have to look at payroll. It would not be easy and not easy to explain. •How do you feel about homeschool families in the area?Walker: We all have a choice in what we do in life. I have no problem with home schools but wish they would come and visit our schools, visit with the superintendent, principals and look at other avenues. Hom schooled kids use our activities, athletics. I just want them to give us a chance.Dixon: I don't think I've ever heard a board position taken on home schools. It's a wonderful opportunity for families and kids. My biggest concern is the loss of social contact with other kids. That's something that's difficult to overcome but many families have done pretty well.Trujillo: One of the greatest things I learned in the military is that we're willing to give our lives to protect freedom and that freedom is for each and every one of us in this room. Some don't believe in the public school system and that is their freedom. I do see homeschooled kids in athletics. If there was something different we could i, I wish we could. It's a personal choice and I have to respect that personal choice.•How important is it for the district to improve its state test scores. What should the school district do to help minority/at-risk students succeed?Dixon: The number one goal is student achievement, test scores should follow student achievement. We want the achievement and have multiple ways to measure that - not just the ones rehired by the state. We're very successful at this time in accomplishing major improvement in student achievement. I believe in equal opportunity for all students. That's a responsibility that we have.Trujillo: At the high school level, we have an obligation to increase our schools. I would like the schools to recognize those who are doing well. We need to do better. Can we offer MCC classes that will allow them to advance? One of the things I feel is important is engagement. As teachers, administrators and school employees, we have to know our kids, get to know them on a personal level, what makes them tick, what makes them succeed and what makes them feel good. We want our kids to be successful.Walker: We're mandated by the state and it's really hard to achieve. That is one of the biggest things we talk about - intervention - what do we do. We're working towards that every year. I am seeing different programs, giving kids a different change. We need more paras in the classroom.•Student safety appears to be a big concern of parents. The district is currently spending $267,000 on safety. Where do you stand on this issue?Trujillo: I think the school district has already done a phenomenal job in safety by investing in cameras. This district has been reactive and done a phenomenal job of looking out for our kids and employees.Walker: I'm not fond of the cameras. They will tell us what happened, but won't help us prevent it. I was against having a Safety Resource Officer at first, but a physical person monitoring is a better resource than having a camera. It's an educational thing.Dixon: This is one of the things I'm really proud of. The things we did are all beneficial, we didn't get radical. We've dealt with the issue and it's not done. We'll continue monitoring safety and coming up with new things to make sure the schools are safe.•How important is obtaining grant money to the school district budget and how much in resources should the district devote to applying for grants?Walker: There is an equal balance. The grant is not going to continue. When grant money is up the program is over but there are a lot of good grants out there. There are a lot of opportunities out there to hire people to write grants. I'm not asking to administration away from the school.Dixon: It's knowing what is available. We don't have a grant writer on hand but are getting our fair share of grains that are applicable to us. Grants are soft money and what we have to have is hard money…money that is going to be repeated year after year after year.Trujillo: When I was on the East Morgan County Hospital Board, the majority of costs for two new operation rooms and an additional area was primarily grant money. We need to put time into looking for grants. It lessens the burden on the community.•Do you have any concerns about unequal spending for boys' vs. girls' athletics?Dixon: This has been an issue before I came on board. We have worked on it to try and resolve it. I think it is important for us to offer athletic programs on an equal basis. The problem has been it is difficult to find girls interested in athletic program. We have even worked with other schools. I do believe it is very important to be persistent with that.Trujillo: I believe Title IX stipulates that we should have equality for male and female sports. I know we tried to get girls soccer in place and it was a significant cost. Yes, there needs to be equality. I believe in consistency and fairness. We need to treat young ladies as consistently and fair as our young men.Walker: It's one of those concerns…we're still dealing with a Title IX issue. We're looking at avenues, but it's a tough question to answer.•What do you think about having a residency requirement for teachers and other school district employees?Trujillo: Housing is very limited in Brush so to push a residency issue is pretty tough. There are other ways teachers could be involved, i.e. sponsor clubs. Walker: For the most part, they live in the district. We do have a few that don't. It depends on the situation. We all want and encourage it.Dixon: It has been a difficult thing to find housing this year. People were more than willing to live in the community but the housing is not here. We, as citizens of Brush, need to be dealing with this and encouraging new construction, not only sing family units, but apartments also.•Something needs to be done to address the high teacher turnover rate. What would you do?Walker: We already did it, we got stability. We have a superintendent in place down. When you change the guard so many times, you have to settle down. It's going to take a little time to settle in, but we're on our way.Dixon: It's very important to recognize that problem. We know it exists, we know one of the biggest issues with it is that the teachers don't feel like they belong. We are not isolate and have done a lot of other things to create a positive working environment. I think we will see a major change in the attrition that's been going on. We still need to resolve salaries as our teachers are paid less than in nearby districts.Trujillo: The reality of it comes down to if Amendment 66 doesn't pass, we will lose more teachers. If it doesn't pass, we have to go to a Mill Levy Override. We need to pay our teachers more. It means better quality kids.

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